


The Boys and the Ballet

by pandorabox82



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29807802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandorabox82/pseuds/pandorabox82
Summary: Penelope is at the seashore with one of her stepbrothers and his family, and she finds out about the woman who is said to haunt the home next to their rental home. How will she cope with a real ghost from her past?





	The Boys and the Ballet

"And that house is haunted," Penelope heard her niece say, and she frowned a little as she followed the line of her finger to see that Ysabel was pointing to a large house close to the water about two miles away from the place where they were staying.

"And how do you know that?" she asked as they stepped out onto the sand of the beach, heading down to the water.

Ysabel looked up at her, rolling her eyes in the way that only little girls can, before sticking her hand on her hip and glaring at her. "Because, Aunt Penelope, we come here every year for the summer. This is just the first year that you've been with us. Everyone knows that a woman's ghost haunts that house, and there are nights when the lights are on, and she steps out onto her porch and stares at the water as the wind whips her skirt around her legs. But no one has ever gotten her to answer her door, and we're all too afraid to go exploring over there. Rumor has it, if she discovers you on her property, you only have a year to live."

Penelope stifled her giggle, knowing that it would offend her niece and nodded solemnly. "I wonder what this ghost looks like?" she mused as she spread out the blanket on the sand and stepped out of her sandals before taking a seat and shoving her hat on her head as she watched Ysabel strip out of her shirt and shorts before running headlong into the water, shrieking with pleasure. Keeping one eye on Ysabel, Penelope pulled out her phone and took a picture of the house that had so captured local legend, passing it on to her friend who was into urban legends before doing a little digging herself. Though she had left the FBI years ago, there were still some things that piqued her curiosity, and this most definitely was one of them. Still, she knew that she couldn't dig the way she used to, and so contented herself to using conventional means to try and find out who owned the house, turning up nothing useful.

Letting out a deep sigh, she took another picture of the house before turning her attention to her niece, watching her play as she relaxed on the towel. This was exactly the vacation that she needed, after her breakup with Luke and her rebound romance with Caitlin had gone nowhere. Which, she supposed, was exactly what rebound romances usually did, and so she shouldn't be so hung up with her still. Shaking her head a little, Penelope tried to clear her mind of all the negative thoughts there were starting to swirl.

"Come join me, Aunt Penelope!" Ysabel waved frantically to her, and she nodded before getting to her feet and stepping over her sandals before making her way down to the water. "How are you going to swim in your clothes?"

"I'm not, sweetie. I didn't bring a swimsuit, since I don't know how to swim. But I'll gladly stand in the water and watch you. Or we could look for shells."

Ysabel pouted and shrugged before bending low in the water and splashing a huge amount of water onto her. Penelope gasped a little in shock before she retaliated, splashing her niece back as an impromptu water war broke out between them. As they played, a hint of motion from the haunted house caught her attention, and she glanced over to see that there was indeed a figure, dressed all in black, that had come out onto the verandah to see what the commotion was. Before she could stop herself, Penelope lifted her hand and waved, only for the person to turn and hurriedly make her way back into the house. That alone told Penelope that there was no ghost living in that house, merely a recluse, and her interest was heightened even more.

She played with Ysabel for a little while longer before finally getting her to agree to hunt for seashells and sand dollars along the shore. Penelope grinned when she found a perfect ladder horn snail shell, slipping it into her pocket before making her way back to the blanket and taking a seat while Ysabel continued to hunt for different shells and bits of sea glass. As she plopped down onto the blanket, grabbing out the small towel she'd brought along just in case she got wet and drying off as best she could before stretching out and putting on her sunglasses, staring up at the clouds. "I wonder if she'd answer the door if I knocked?"

Penelope didn't exactly know why Ysabel thought that it was a ghost, but that did lend a romantic air to the whole affair, and she sighed as she began to dream up a few different scenarios where she could find out who was living in that house. The need to solve the mystery just crawled beneath her skin and burrowed into her mind, even though she tried not to focus on that, and she found herself looking forward to the fact that her stepbrother and his wife would be taking Ysabel out for supper. It would give her the perfect opportunity to try and figure out this little mystery before she had to head home at the end of the week.

The hours passed much too slowly for Penelope's liking, since her brain was filled with plans of what might happen when she went knocking on the neighbor's door, and it was hard not to let out a sigh of relief when they left the house and she was finally alone. Scurrying up to the bathroom, Penelope touched up her makeup and straightened her hair before smoothing her blouse and skirt a little. She wanted to make a good impression on the woman, after all, and not get thrown off her property without even a by your leave. Finally, she felt satisfied with her appearance and went back downstairs, grabbing her phone and purse before stepping into her sandals and heading back down to the beach, deciding that that was a safer route than trying to walk along the side of the road.

A mile in the sand, walking in sandals, was a lot harder than she had expected, so she was glad that it was a cool night so she didn't break a sweat until the last few moments of the walk. Finally, she was making her way up the long, winding, drive and trying to talk herself down from the ledge that was telling her that this might not have been her brightest idea ever. "This woman is not an unsub, Penelope. Most criminals that you helped the BAU catch over the course of your seventeen years with the team were men. Everything is going to be all right," she whispered to herself like a mantra as she approached the door and raised her hand to knock.

When no one came to the door after she had counted to two hundred, she glanced around the door for a bell, smiling when she found it. Still, her finger hesitated to press it, and she drew in a deep breath before finally pushing it in with the tip of her finger. This time, she heard a flurry of motion head towards her, and she knew that she would get her answer, one way or the other, very soon. As the door opened, she sucked in another, deeper, breath and began to speak before she took a good look at who she was speaking to. "Hi, I'm your neighbor for the next week, Penelope Garcia, and I couldn't help but notice that your verandah would be the perfect place to watch the sunset from, and since my brother and his family have gone out for supper, leaving me alone, I thought that I would see if I could watch the sunset…"

Her voice trailed off when her brain finally caught up with her mouth, and she felt her jaw slacken as she tried to reconcile who she was seeing with what she had known to be true for the last decade. "I suppose that you had better come in and we can watch the sunset together as we talk about this."

Nodding slowly, Penelope allowed a true ghost from her past guide her into the gorgeous beach house and out to the verandah. There was a table and chairs in one corner of the verandah, and she made a beeline for the closest chair, taking a seat before her legs gave out beneath her. "I know that this is a major imposition, but do you think that I could have something to drink?"

"You'll have to make do with water or juice, I'm afraid. It's too warm an evening for tea, and I still don't drink."

"Water will be perfect," she replied, watching as Erin Strauss nodded jerkily and then turned on her heel to disappear from the porch and back into the house. As soon as she was gone, Penelope released the last of the breath she had been holding and tried to relax. This was the last thing she had been expecting to see when she knocked on that door this evening, and she wondered just what she would say to the woman. There was so much between them that had abruptly ended when Erin had died on the streets of New York, even though she now knew that that was a lie. Which meant that she had entered the Program.

"I brought a pitcher, just in case we wanted more to drink later on," Erin said softly as she rejoined Penelope on the verandah, and she gave the older woman a soft smile as she took the cool glass from her hand, sipping at it in order to calm her thoughts. "I suppose that you have a lot of questions for me, then."

"I think that I have a few, yes. I take it that you're in the Program?"

"I was, up until two years ago, when they declared Curtis and all of his associates, if there were any, dormant. But I'd already made me a life here in McKinleyville, and you all had moved on. There was nothing for me there, and since David had bought me this place, well, it was easy enough to stay here and become a ghost. I've heard the stories the kids tell about me, since no one knows I am the owner of this place."

Erin drank from her glass and then set it aside as she looked at Penelope, obviously waiting for her to respond. Only, she didn't know what to say, and she tightened her hold on the glass as she took some shallow breaths. "What about your kids?" she finally said, grabbing on to the one safe subject that she could think of in that moment.

"They know that I'm here, and when the tourists have gone home, they come to me. Thankfully, they're all in positions where they can take their vacations at weird times of the year. I'm thinking that will change once Karen delivers my first grandchild."

"No, that won't be until five years later, and said grandchild starts school. When is she due?"

"In December, around the fifth. But given that I had the tendency to go into labor a few weeks early, she could end up having her around Thanksgiving. But as long as she's healthy, that's all that matters."

"That is very true." Penelope gave her a small smile before taking another sip of water. "You've been here for ten years?"

"Yes, and I've loved every moment. There's something magical about living on the beach."

Penelope nodded as she fell quiet, watching the horizon as the colors of the sky began to change. "I haven't been back to the west coast since I moved to Quantico. And this is the first time that one of my stepbrothers has wanted to be in contact with me, and it's been lovely so far, but I feel a bit stifled, since he didn't exactly approve of Caitlin, and was glad that we had broken up before this vacation came around."

She couldn't help but notice that Erin blushed a little as she rose to her feet and carried her glass over to the railing of the verandah, leaning against it as she stared out at the water. Penelope joined her after refilling her glass, staring out at the horizon once more. "A lot of people are uncomfortable around bisexual women."

"You and Alex, then?"

Erin nodded. "Yes. We grew close in the Academy, and while her dad didn't mind what we shared, the one time I tried to broach the topic with my parents, they were so judgmental of a fictious friend that I had made up to test the waters that I knew I couldn't tell them. Alex always said that she understood, but our relationship couldn't last beneath the weight of my parents' disapproval. It was a glorious six months, though. It was just the next year after that that became agony. Until she met James and I met Alan. It wasn't perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I could be normal for my parents, at least."

This was the most personal information that she had ever learned about Erin, and she stepped closer to the woman as they went quiet once more, continuing to watch the sun go down. She released a long breath as the sky opened up, quickly drenching them to the bone. "Frak," she muttered as they hurriedly ran for the door.

"I can't let you walk home soaking wet like that. Here, I'll show you to the bathroom, and grab a robe from my room so that I can toss your clothes in the dryer."

Penelope nodded as she followed Erin inside and upstairs to a spacious bathroom. "Thanks," she murmured as she slipped behind the door and began to peel off the sopping wet dress. Getting out of her bra and panties was another battle, since they seemed determined to cling to her skin, but she finally managed to get out of them and grabbed a towel off the rack, starting to dry her hair as the door to the bathroom cracked open once more, Erin's arm appearing with a plush robe. "This is swanky."

"I have always loved a plush robe. It's the decadent way it feels against your skin that just sends that thrill of pleasure down your spine."

Penelope nodded as she slipped into the robe, tying the belt tightly around her waist before crouching to grab her clothes and joining Erin in the hall. "That is very true."

Again, there was a faint tinge to Erin's cheeks, and Penelope preened a little to know that she had caused that reaction in the woman. "So, I'll toss these in the dryer if you want to find the living room."

"Sounds like a plan." Penelope leaned in and brushed her cheek against Erin's softly, breathing in the almost forgotten scent of her perfume, before she slipped past her and made her way into the house proper. She wanted to linger in every room, to see the life that Erin had made for herself in the decade she had spent away from them, but also didn't want to be too nosy. Finally, she arrived in the correct room, and Penelope settled in a corner of the sofa closest to the fireplace, curling her feet up beneath her as she reached for her phone, only to find that she hadn't taken it out of her dress pocket before handing the garment over to Erin.

Exhaling a slightly frustrated breath, Penelope stared out the window, watching the rain as it continued to fall. If it kept up, she would definitely ask Erin for a ride back to her place, as she didn't want to get soaked on the walk back, especially not when the sand would almost be worse to walk in after it was wet.

"Well, everything is in the dryer, except our bras. I pinned them to the laundry line in the mud room, as I never dry mine. And here's your phone," she said as she handed the device to Penelope before starting to take a seat.

"Actually, would you mind starting a fire? I find myself chilled."

Erin nodded a little as she went over to the fireplace and elegantly crouched down, making a fire as quick as she could. Penelope couldn't seem to take her eyes off Erin's form as she knelt on the ground, trying not to peep glances at the bare expanse of leg that was revealed when her robe fell open a little. "It will take a little while for the heat to fill the room, since the ceilings are so high."

"I think that the crackle of the wood will give me the placebo effect until it's actually kind of warm. Um, I don't mean to keep being an imposition, but if it's still raining once all my clothes are dry, would you mind running me home?"

"I can do that, yes. But you should probably text your brother to let him know where you are. I'd hate for him to think that you were missing, after all."

She gave Erin a small smile as she finally took a seat on the sofa, curling up much like Penelope was in her corner, and a warm silence fell over the room as she stared into the fire. It took her a moment to do as Erin suggested, since she didn't want to burst this bubble. Finally, though, she pulled out her phone and sent off a message, telling him that she had gone to watch the sunset from their neighbor's verandah and had gotten caught in the rainstorm and didn't know when she'd be home, as her clothes were currently drying. After that was sent, she tossed the phone onto the coffee table in front of her, wanting to focus completely on Erin for the rest of the time that they had together.

"So, I know that you're here alone, for the most part. How have you filled your time?" Penelope asked as she shifted how she was sitting, taking care not to flash Erin as she contorted her legs into a comfortable position as she looked at Erin, watching her face carefully to see if what she would be told was true or not.

"Boys and ballet," she replied archly, and Penelope burst into giggles. "All right, so, there haven't been any boys unless you count the men who take care of the grounds, but I have been to the ballet a lot. Along with having season tickets to the symphony and going to as many operas as I can. It's been rather fun playing both the socialite and the grieving ghost who will claim someone's life in a year."

"But only if you catch them on your property. So, does that mean you'll claim my life in a year?" she teased as she leaned in a little. "Erin?"

"I would never want to claim your life, Penelope."

Her face turned sad, and Penelope sighed as she shook her head a little. "There is more than one way to claim a life, you know." She didn't know what was possessing her in that current moment, but she scooted closer to Erin, able to reach out and touch her arm, which she did, tugging lightly on the robe, parting the upper half of it a little so that she could see the swell of her breasts. "It doesn't have to be a sad thing. It could very easily be a sensual thing. Since we're both of a certain persuasion."

The flush was quickly back on Erin's face, spreading downwards to color her chest. "You have a life back in Quantico."

"Not the same life that you might think. I've left the BAU, I have an entirely new friend group, and it is such a different life now. There would be nothing really holding me down there, if, in a year, I wanted to move out here and be able to live quietly on the beach."

Erin started to giggle as she shook her head. "There is nothing quiet about you, Penelope Garcia." She shrugged and gave the older woman a quick wink before stretching a little, causing the fabric of her own robe to part slightly, revealing a fair amount of skin in the process and arching her eyebrows when she caught Erin checking her out. "And we don't even know if we're compatible, since while we were friendly for the last two years of my life in Quantico, a decade has passed between then and now."

"There is only one way to find that out," she fairly purred, seeing Erin's flush deepen even as her pupils dilated a little. They leaned in towards each other and Penelope tilted her head a little before closing the remaining distance between them and kissing her softly, wanting to keep it light, just in case Erin didn't feel anything. But then she was being pressed backwards on the sofa as Erin deepened the kiss, stretching out along her body. "Well, that was certainly a good first kiss."

Erin laughed breathlessly as she nodded before she rested her head on Penelope's chest and let out a little sigh. "It was, yes." A little yawn split her lips as she nuzzled her cheek against her breasts. "Between the sound of the fire and the rain, I am finding myself exhausted."

"It really doesn't sound like it's letting up out there, does it? So maybe we could get some sleep before you bring me home tomorrow morning?"

Erin hummed with pleasure as she nodded in agreement, getting up from the sofa and quickly extinguishing the fire before turning to look at Penelope. "All right, let's head up to bed." Penelope nodded eagerly as she rose to her feet and took hold of Erin's outstretched hand, allowing the woman to lead her upstairs and into a spacious bedroom. "You can stay here, in the guestroom, or…"

"I could stay with you?" Erin gave a quick nod before smiling a little. "As long as you have something that I can wear to bed, I think that I'd like that. Because even though I really like sex, I'm not one to have it on the first date."

"I think that I have something that will work," Erin replied as she took hold of her hand once more, guiding her across the hall to an equally large bedroom, though this one was definitely decorated more along the lines of how Penelope had always imagined Erin's home to look. Taking a seat on the end of the bed, she watched as Erin rummaged around in a dresser drawer before coming over to her side and handing over a white cotton nightgown. "This should fit, since I love loose nightgowns."

Before she could say anything, Penelope watched as Erin turned away from her and slipped out of the robe, letting it fall to the floor as she pulled her own nightgown over her head and let it fall down around her ankles. Still, she was able to get a glimpse of how white Erin's skin was and how nice her ass looked. Before the woman could turn around, Penelope let her robe fall around her waist as she pulled the nightgown, loving how the fabric felt against her skin as she stood and let it reach her own ankles as she slipped off the bed and grabbed her robe before picking up Erin's and taking them over to the closet and hanging them up, since it seemed a shame to let them stay anywhere else.

When she turned around, Erin was already pulling the sheet up around her waist, and she smiled as she went over to her side and crawled in next to her. "This is seriously like laying on a cloud, Erin," she breathed out as she settled the sheet around her own waist.

"That was why I purchased it. I became a creature of comfort when I moved out here, because I really had no one's expectations to live up to. That was so freeing after feeling like I had to be so perfect at my job. That tightrope I walked was what led to my dependence upon alcohol, and I wish that I had taken more steps towards getting better when I had the chance, before it got so bad that Aaron and Derek had to take me to the strictest rehabilitation facility that IAB could find. And while I was so angry that they had done that, it saved my life. That is the one thing that I regret about not coming out of the Program sooner, as I would have liked to tell them even more just how much their actions changed my life. I know, I asked for and received amends from them after rejoining you all during the bank heist incident, but it still feels like there were things I left unsaid."

"There's always time to reach out now. You don't have to reveal your location, but just writing a letter would be welcome, you know. I can get you their addresses, if you want. Especially since neither is with the BAU any longer."

Erin nodded a little as she turned and faced Penelope, reaching her hand out to rest on the dip of her waist. "I suppose that I could." Her eyes closed a little as she leaned in and rested her forehead against Penelope's, letting out a deep sigh. "What have you been up to since I saw you last? I know you mentioned Luke and Caitlin, but those were people you were attached to. What new job did you find?"

"I work with a nonprofit now, helping out the survivors of the things that I used to help solve. There is a lot of trauma left behind in the wake of violent crime, and I get to use my counseling skills alongside my computer skills, so I feel like I'm actually doing something worthwhile. When I left the BAU, I was allowed to own my own computer once more, with the understanding that if I stepped out of line, even one inch, those privileges would be rescinded, and I would have to rejoin the fold."

"Somehow, I have the feeling that you wouldn't do anything foolish ever again."

"You are completely right. I learned my lesson, and now I know how to work the system to my advantage without stepping out of line. I used the tricks I picked up in my tenure with the BAU to make things easier for the family's left behind." She hummed a little as she reached out and stroked Erin's hair, twirling a few pieces of it around her fingers as she tugged gently. "Besides being a socialite ghost, how else have you filled your days? You have to have something that you do when the sun is up!"

Erin opened her eyes once more to gaze at Penelope almost fondly as she blushed a little. "I've actually picked up writing. It was something I loved in my undergrad work, and since I do have so much time on my hands, I can devote a lot of attention to that piece of me. I've even had the Program help me get three of the books published, and it still amazes me that people want to read them, enough so that I am working on a fourth in the series."

"That is amazing, and you are going to have to let me go home with a copy of each one before I go home." Erin's smile turned shy as she nodded a little, and Penelope quickly tipped her head so that she could kiss her. "I wish that I had known how soft your lips were sooner. I might have stolen a few kisses from you under Rossi's nose. Speaking of our dear resident Italian Stallion, did you hear that he had gotten married?"

Erin nodded, rolling her eyes a little. "He went back to Krystall. Given the way that they fought before they got divorced, I happen to think that she's only with him for the financial security that he can provide now and after he dies." Penelope giggled as she slipped her arm over Erin's waist, scooting closer to her so that they were touching without touching. A flush began to spread across Erin's upper chest, and Penelope shrugged a little as she began to run her hand up and down the parts of Erin's back that she could reach, finding the motions so sensual as she felt the warmth from her body bleed through the cotton of the nightgown and into her hand.

"I happen to feel the same way about her, truth be told. But, I suppose if he's happy with her, we can't really say anything about it."

"I know, but I wish that…well, I wish that John Curtis had been caught before he destroyed my life. If just one thing had been different, everything could have been different. But that also means that we wouldn't have this opportunity, so maybe everything has worked out for the best."

"I happen to think so. But we have a year to make certain that that's correct. Handwritten letters, phone calls while we're in the bath, skype calls, there are so many ways to cement a relationship."

"That certain that we could have something?" Though Erin had tried to ask her question saucily, Penelope could see that she was wary for the answer, as if she didn't want to be rejected when they were so intimate.

"Well, we've shared a few really sweet kisses that tell me there's a certain chemistry between us that can't be denied, and we're both bisexual, and yeah. I really do think that there could be something between us. And just think, when you call me on the phone now, I can tell you to talk dirty to me, and you really can. I think that I would love to hear a litany of filth drop from between your honeyed lips, and the only thing I can do about it is touch myself as you continue to whisper the dirtiest little bon mots."

Erin shifted a little on the bed as she licked her lips, and Penelope nodded before leaning in and kissing her deeply. "You make an excellent case for the future. All right, one year and then we go from there." A soft grin spread across her face as she sucked in a deep breath, letting out a little squeak as Erin was the one to initiate the kiss this time, her hand sliding down to her bum and caressing it lightly as they melted into each other, quickly falling asleep to the sound of the rain outside the bedroom window.


End file.
